And when stop taking the pill after they’ve settled in with Mr. Milquetoast, and stop taking the pill… do they regret it?

It’s a bit of a tabloid style intro, sure, but that’s pretty much what a recent paper is saying may be the case…

The trouble with oral contraception, Alvergne and Lummaa suggest, is that by altering the normally cycling hormones women will certainly prevent pregnancy, but they might inadvertently be altering their choice of what qualities they’re attracted to.

As they explain in their paper:

New evidence suggests that the pill, by eliminating oestrus, changes the natural cycling preferences in women for markers of both genetic quality and compatibility in mates as well as natural cycling attractiveness to men. As compared with normally cycling women, pill users show no or weaker preferences for facial and vocal masculinity. For instance, the preferred face shape is more masculine during the high conception-probability phase of the menstrual cycle in non-pill users, but pill users do not show similar preference.

The concern of the researchers is that a woman who gets involved with a guy while on the pill might find that she’s no longer compatible with him once she stops later on in the relationship. Imagine waking up next to your boyfriend, or even your husband, one morning only to discover that you’re just not that into him. While female comedians make such scenarios commonplace in their stand-up routines, Alvergne and Lummaa suggest it could be a serious reality for modern women.

Read the commentary on the paper, or (if you have access) just read the paper.